FCC’s newly formed mental health awareness work group honored Mental Health Awareness Month this past May, but we also wanted to bring our attention to a “movement” that has been growing within the United Church of Christ.

Our faith community is invited to stay engaged with the topic of mental health every month, and to tune into the needs of people who are struggling with a variety of “unseen” mental, cognitive, and emotional challenges throughout the year. The movement is about far more than being warm and welcoming. It’s about identifying the needs of those with unseen conditions and doing what we can to meet their needs, every day, every month. It’s also about fighting the stigma of mental health and removing barriers that can isolate.

Rev. Sarah Lund, UCC minister for mental health and disabilities on the national UCC staff, urges all UCC congregations to “encourage testimonies where people can share their story about experiencing mental health [challenges] and how they got support. The UCC Mental Health Network has a wide variety of resources congregations can use in Sunday services, and throughout the year at https://www.mhn-cc.org/.

“I like to say every Sunday is mental health Sunday,” Lund writes on the UCC website. Do you, or does a family member, have a testimony they are willing to share one Sunday? Please let us know by sending an email to the Social Justice & Witness Committee at socialjustice@fcceugene.org